Hello!
I’ve had a spate of hectic hectic weeks and with the festive season upon us (literally upon me seeing how Diwali was just a couple of days ago), I rely heavily on my skincare to keep my skin in a sane condition. In my stash, I have a couple of super serums – you’ve already read my thoughts on the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Complex II and here is another super serum I really enjoy using: SK-II Stempower Essence.
The Stempower Essence aims to boost skin’s inner resilience for poreless-looking bouncy skin – features of youthful skin. Epidermal cells are the source of skin’s youth activity and are responsible for skin renewal. However, with age and constant assault by external aggressors like harsh sunlight, UV rays and pollution. stem cell activity can decline.
SK-II’s research allowed it to locate what they refer to as the “Master Switch” – it is a receptor in the skin that enables the protection of these critically important epidermal cells. The Master Switch helps the epidermal cells fulfill all its functions of anti-oxidation, regeneration and longevity. By boosting and keeping epidermal cell activity at a high, our skin health is well-maintained and even improves as it enhances protective and regenerative cell action. The Master Switch is also able to regulate the cell environment, resulting in increased protein production that enhanced inner cell density. All this translates into skin that is firm, smooth and poreless.
Here are some of the star ingredients in Stempower Essence:
- SK-II Pitera – SK-II’s signature ingredient works to improve all 5 dimensions of crystal clear skin
- Stem-Acanax – a natural ingredient also present in the Stempower moisturiser formula, it promotes the formation of “lift-proteins” that are critical in improving skin’s radical firmness.
- Artichoke Extract – a popular vegetable usually found in Western cuisine, it is the main ingredient that activates the Master Switch; it also works in tandem with Pitera to increase the skin cell’s anti-oxidation function to protect the root cell environment.
- Kinren Extract – new to SK-II’s formulations, Kinren extract is derived from a flower, the Tropaeolum Majus, and promotes cell density
Let’s take a closer look at Stempower Essence, starting with the packaging.
Much like a Christmas bauble, it comes in a metallic red glass flacon with a dropper to dispense the essence – simple, hygienic and fuss-free.
The essence itself has a light serum texture – it is a little on the runny side and while SK-II recommends 1-2 droppers’ worth of serum per application, I find that 1 dropper’s worth is sufficient for face and neck. It spreads very easily and absorbs into skin very quickly.
So we know what it is supposed to do, what it’s made up of and how it feels on skin. But what can it do? While at the media preview, Stempower Essence was tested on cut apples. Once cut, apples oxidise extremely quickly, turning a brown shade. To demonstrate the regenerative and protective properties of Stempower Essence, grated apples were mixed with 3 mediums – water, an serum from another brand and Stempower Essence. Here is the result:
I had my own apple to play with and instead of grating it, I just cut it in half and dropped a little Stempower Essence on one corner – I think you can tell from the photo below, EXACTLY where the Stempower Essence has been applied, even if you don’t look hard.
I’ve been using the Stempower Essence off and on – trialling it for a couple of weeks straight and then turning my attention to other things. With Stempower Essence, I find that skin looks less sallow and dull and I look ok even though I’m functioning on less than 4 hours of sleep. After I hit 30, I realize that skin looks tired and dull SO much more easily – a couple of nights staring at the laptop and skin can look so blah, it hurts. Super serums like SK-II Stempower Essence keep skin looking in far better condition as opposed to just using a normal night cream. I like using both the Stempower Essence and a very very tiny dollop of the Stempower Moisturiser (which has a heavy texture for my skin type) – continuous usage yields super soft, smooth skin and when skin is smooth and well-rested, it automatically looks brighter.
SK-II recommends applying the Stempower Essence over the whole face, adding a few drops extra on concerned areas with a gentle knuckling motion – this should be applied after the Facial Treatment Essence Clear Lotion.
SK-II Stempower Essence is available at all SK-II counters at S$156 (30ml) and S$224 (50ml). Lookout for upcoming Metro 20% sale and the SK-II Holiday Coffrets – I’m certain the Stempower Essence will be one of the stars in SK-II’s Holiday 2013 lineup.
Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day ahead!
